You can never have too many clamps!
I bought this t-shirt to support the I Like To Make Stuff YouTube channel, which I watch all the time for ideas and techniques.
If you want to see how I built my clamp racks, check out my post.
Clamp Champ
Author: Nick Momrik
I'm searching for my first hole-in-one.
I enjoy being active and making things.
I work for Automattic.
Within Reach
When I built my my workshop table I put a magnet tool holder on each side, but haven’t really used them. Finally making use of them with a 6′ tape measure and a pencil with a magnet glued in. I also used a nail for hanging a speed square there. Both sides of the table have the same setup.
I’m always trying to make things more efficient.
A New Table Saw Sled Fence
I built my crosscut sled for the table saw just over a year ago and one thing always bugged me. The piece of plywood I used for the original fence had a slight bow to it, so the cuts weren’t perfectly square. While it had served me fine for building shop furniture, it wasn’t going to work when building a couple of cabinets.
To fix the problem:
- I cut an old piece of 2×4 to length.
- Using the jointer, I flattened the front face and squared the bottom.
- I also cleaned up the top and back on the jointer.
- On the router table I added a chamfer to the bottom edge of the front face. It gives sawdust a place to go instead of getting in the way of the work piece.
- All of the top, left, and right face edges also got the chamfer for comfort when handling the sled.
- I went over all of the chamfers with a sanding block.
- Then I attached the new fence to the sled, making sure it was square to the blade slot.
I should have fixed it a long time ago, especially since it was only a 30 minute job.
Ronnie Coleman: The King
Yeah buddy!
A lot of people think of Arnold Schwarzenegger when it comes to bodybuilding, but Ronnie Coleman won My Olympia eight years in-a-row and earned the nickname “The King” as the best bodybuilder in history. He has bigger than anyone before him and everyone who has come after.
All the years of hard training and heavy weights took a toll on his body. It was hard to watch him hobbling around in this film.
If you’ve never watched Pumping Iron, watch that first.
Bathroom Wall Cabinets
My housekeeper asked me to finish up some cabinets that had been started for her bathroom. Looked simple enough when she dropped them off. Later, when I went to get started and took a closer look, I realized how rough they were. Nothing was square, no glue was used, there were saw marks, joints had big gaps, and the doors were cut from heavy warped plywood.
No bueno! I decided to start from scratch as a holiday gift for her. After disassembling these I’ll use the wood on an upcoming shop project.
I didn’t take pictures or video during the build because I wanted to concentrate on what I was doing. Pretty happy with the way they turned out.
She is going to paint them, so I didn’t need to apply any finish.
Outlaw King
I enjoyed this one. Has some great action sequences.
2018 Home Screen – iPhone X
Link Dump – 2018/12/01
- New Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ unveiled ⇒
I haven’t bought a new Pi in a while, but I should probably make use of the ones I have before snagging one of these. - DiResta Circular Saw Tips
Creating the offset block is a great idea. - DiResta Reciprocating saw Tips
Wonder if the his pallet technique gets better results than using a pallet buster. - 2018 Manitoba Bear Hunt
Some neat video from my dad’s bear hunt. - My first Tesla Battery Fire
Batteries can be extremely dangerous! Rich posted a good follow-up as well. - Which one of these photography hacks shocks you the most?!
Commercials are a lie! - Announcing Free .blog Subdomains
This should be a hit. I can see a lot of people choosing these instead of the free BLOGNAME.wordpress.com domain for their site. - “Alexa, play Bebe Rexha on Apple Music” ⇒
Yes!! Good timing after getting my second Echo Dot. -
Ben Folds Composes a Song LIVE for Orchestra In Only 10 Minutes
The minds of musicians blows me away.
Revive a Ryobi Battery
I’ve been able to revive a dead power tool battery before, but Ryobi has some extra protection so you can’t trickle charge them from the contact points on the outside of their batteries. I was able to use a method I found on YouTube to trickle charge from the inside and the battery is working again.
When I say “dead battery” I mean the charger status shows the battery is defective. It can do this if the battery completely loses all of its power or the cells become imbalanced. The charger has built-in safety measures that prevent it from charging batteries in this state.
Be aware that opening the battery like this will void the warranty. Due to the special screws (T10 with a hole) I bought a security bit set from Menards for $5.
Update: A second battery went dead the day this was published. This method resurrected that one as well.
My YouTube Subscriptions
In my post about TV watching habit changes I said I’d share my YouTube subscriptions. I’ve organized all of the channels into categories and given a very short description of each.
CrossFit
ArmenHammerTV – Reports on all things related to CrossFit.
CrossFit Mayhem – From Rich Froning and his gym. Workout videos, tips, and their podcast.
CrossFit – My favorite fitness program.
TeamRICHEY – Interviews, commentary on CrossFit news, and insights into the couple’s training. Craig’s humor speaks to me.
Electronics
Adafruit Industries – Company that makes a lot of great electronics.
Alex Eames – Develops Raspberry Pi accessories.
Arduino – Maybe the most popular microcontroller platform.
N-O-D-E – Develops some Raspberry Pi related projects. Reports on security, robotics, and other technology stuff.
Pimoroni – Company in the UK making a lot of great electronics.
Raspberry Pi – The best single board computer.
SparkFun Electronics – Another great electronics company.
The MagPi magazine – Official magazine for the Raspberry Pi.
Humor
standupmaths – Discusses math in a fun and humorous way.
The Pun Guys – These guys are punny.
Makers
Adam Savage’s Tested – I’ve categorized in the maker category because my favorite videos from the channel are Adam’s One Day Builds. They cover a lot of things, do product videos, etc.
Andrew Setters – Does woodworking and art projects.
April Wilkerson – Woodworking and metal working projects.
Becky Stern – Mostly electronics based projects, but also photography, other crafts, and even stuff related to her motorcycle.
Darbin Orvar – Woodworking and electronics projects.
Fisher’s Shop – Woodworking with a fun sense of humor.
I Like To Make Stuff – Modeling, woodworking, metal working, and electronics projects.
izzy swan – Woodworking, interesting jigs, and creative ways to use tools.
Jackman Works – Woodworking projects that are usually very unique.
Jeremy Fielding – Some more in-depth engineering stuff, like how motors work, building different machines, etc.
jimmydiresta – Very popular maker who mostly works with wood and metal.
David Waelder – He used to work with Jimmy Diresta. Still does some woodworking and metal projects.
Brett McAfee – Works with Jimmy Diresta, but also does his own woodworking and metal projects.
John Heisz – I Build It – Mostly woodworking, but also building different machines and some work with metal.
I Build It – John’s second channel with some different projects.
I Build It Scrap Bin – Another one of John’s channels with shorter videos and more talking.
Matthias Wandel – Mostly project videos about woodworking and building machines.
Matthias Wandel – Odds & Ends – His second channel with more random stuff.
Heisz Wandel project – Combined channel between John Heisz and Matthias Wandel, where they mostly discuss things related to their various channels.
Laura Kampf – Maker with her own unique style. She uses a lot of different materials and techniques.
Make Something – Woodworking projects presented in an easy to understand way.
Make: – Focused on DIY with a lot of technology.
Measured Workshop – Mostly woodworking projects.
One Minute Workbench – Aims to show the viewer how to make good use of limited workshop space and time.
Rich Rebuilds – Rebuilds Teslas and has started on some other electric vehicle projects.
SeanHodgins – Does some really neat electronics projects.
Simone Giertz – Famous for making shitty robots.
Steve Ramsey – Woodworking for Mere Mortals – Woodworking aimed at amateurs and people just starting.
Switch & Lever – Many unique projects with a variety of materials.
The Post Apocalyptic Inventor – He does a lot of electronics stuff, like repairing devices, but also makes things out of old motors, repurposes old stuff, and makes projects.
The Wood Whisperer – Focused on woodworking.
Miscellaneous
Hydraulic Press Channel – Crushing things with a hydraulic press to see how they hold up or if they explode.
Beyond the press – Their second channel with a variety of focuses, including making jigs or parts to use with pressing, shooting things with a cannon, blowing stuff up, etc.
Kurt Hugo Schneider – Works with a variety of artists to create music videos.
LastWeekTonight – Hilarious take on various topics, usually something that’s been in the news.
Paul Momrik – My dad’s new channel, where we’ll post some of his hunting adventures.
Physics Girl – Physics and maths. Stuff that gets you thinking.
Technology
Apple – Think different.
Automattic – The company I work for!
Tesla – I love my Model 3!!
